Improvement in curd-knives



A. E. SMITH.

Gard-Knife.

No. 206.629. Ptented July 3o. 181:23.

i ill UNITED 4STATES. PATENT OEEICE.

ALFRED E. SMITH, OF UTICA, NE\V YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN CURB-KNIVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 206,629, dated July 30, 1878 application filed May 31, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ALFRED EDWARD SMITH, of Utica, in the county of Oneida and State ot' New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Curti-Knives; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved curd-knife, Fig. 2, a vertical central 1011- gitudinal section of the same; Fig. 3, a horizontal. section of the same, a portion only of the length of the blades being shown; Fig. 4, a detail view of one of the knife-blades; and Fig. 5, a detail view ot' one of the lateral connecting-bars used to steady the knife-blades, and also aid in dividing the curd.

The nature of my invention consists in a curd-knife having a hollow thin metal head, with a number of knife-blades secured to its front side, in slots through which the shanks of the knife-blades are introduced into the interior of the head, and held in place by means of a transverse wire or pin passed through the shanks inside the hollow head, and by means of a metallic lling of either soft or hard metal poured, in a melted state, into the head, around the inserted shanks of the blades and the said wire, which metallic filling in cooling renders the hollow head solid and strong and insures a very firm and durable means of connection and unity for the knifeblades and head.

y invention also consists in an improved clasp and handle attachment, in combination with the hereinafter-specitied head and knifeblades.

' In the accompanying drawings, A represents a hollow head cut out in one piece from a sheet of metal,so as to be suitably bent into a pri smatic form, and when so bent its rear lon gitudinal side shall be open, while all its other sides are closed, as represented in Fi The front side of the said head is provided wit-h suitable vertical parallel slots, through which the reduced rear ends or shanks, b, of a number of shouldered blades, B, are introduced into the head. The shoulders b of the knifeblades are iirmly held against the outside of the head A, while a pir` or wire, C, is passed through holes c in the shanks b, in such amanner that the wire or pin bears snugly against the inner side of the front of the head A, and holds the shoulders b in close contact with the outside. The introduction of the pin or wire C into the head A is facilitated by having one of the ends a of this head bent forward on a plane with the front side, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

After the pin C is inserted the end al is bent back so as to close the end ot' the head and coniine the pin O in position. 'The interior of the head A is next h'lled with molten metal, as indicated bythe letter X, such as hard metal, lead, or a suitable alloy. This filling surrounds the pin C and the shanks b, and in cooling it unites the head A and blades as solidly as when these parts are made in one piece.

To steady the knifeblades B, one or more bars, l), having ilat sides and rounded edges, are passed through suitable holes d of the blades in a transverse direction and fastened, by Vsoldering or otherwise, to the blades, as represented in the drawings. 1 ordinarily use two such rods, D; but I do not intend to conine myself to that number.

The head A, thus constructed, may be provided with an ordinary handle; but I have found the construction of handle shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings to be superior to others heretofore adopted. This improved handle consists of a wooden gripe, e, fastened to a metal holder, E, by means of a central pin, e, which is a part of the holder, and a forked clasp, c2, which is also a part of the holder, and is titted to the upper and lower longitudinal sides of the head A in a central position, and fastened to the same by soldering, riveting, or otherwise, as indicated in Figs. l and 2. This construction affords a direct connection with the outer and harder metal of the head A on two or more sides, and ir does not interfere with the softer metallic filling, while the wide prongs ofthe clasp c2 preserve the shape of the head aga-inst strains which would tend to bend it during the operation of cutting the curd.

The round-edged rods D, with their [iat sides, offer but little resistance to the descent of the knives through the curd, and in fact these rods act as knives for dividing the curd transnn tup of tinx knif'u prnpcr is prevented. and hard inner metal filling', and the hohler l,l1z1vlnl cuni always lvl't in :1 snmnthly-diviflwl 'miing' n piu7 c1, und claspez, substantially as nml ditinn. for the purposs.l described.

'lmt I claim is- 'itness my hand this 29th dzl-y nt' May, A. 1. In :1 cnrd-knit'c, thv vmnhinalinn of thcl i l). ISTS, in the mutter of' my application fnl' hollow thin metal 110ml having n Soft or I :l patent 0n .fin improved curd-knifl. hzuil inotnl 11s :i tilling, th(` hnitv-hhulus ILhnv- 1 n ing shoulders 1)', Ahunks I, nml holas r', und ALI LLI) I" BMI] Il' the pin snhslnntinlly :1s nml for the pnl'posv Witiwssvs: set forth. l". E. SMITH,

2.. The (-mnlninntiun nl' thv rill'd-hniliA hvml \\'II,I.IA\.\I WRIGHT. 

